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Afghan Election Process Decried as False Positive

Though the results are far from finalized, already tallied votes indicate that Abdullah Abduallah could prevail in the preliminary round of Afghan elections. More than half of all the votes cast have yet to be counted, and a run-off is still likely, but Abdullah has widened his lead over his closest rival, Ashraf Ghani by almost 12%, taking 44% of the vote. Unsurprisingly, allegations of voter fraud and meddling have increased as the percentage of votes tallied grows greater, as rival candidates have accused both Abdullah and Ghani of using unfair voting practices to promote their respective candidacies.

Despite the fact that many traditional media sources have reacted quickly to praise the fact that nearly sixty percent of the Afghan populace turned up to vote in the elections, others have been reluctant to praise the process, even going as far as to decry it for resembling past voting periods too closely. Votes tallied thus far have, according to a report in al-Jazeera, replicated past voting cycles, and have favored the candidate that the current president, Hamid Karzai, has publicly advocated. The report stated that those quick to praise the process should instead look at it as merely a false positive — a continuation of the past that will do little to change or alter the future Afghan political landscape.

News Briefs:

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